1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for stamping and texturing concrete in a curved pattern.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Many architects and designers incorporate pathways and driveways created from individually laid bricks or stones into their projects. Such pathways and driveways provide an extremely durable and aesthetically pleasing appearance that, until recently, could not be matched by other techniques for creating pathways and driveways. However, such individually laid brick and stone pathways have high material and labor costs when compared to other techniques.
Recently, techniques for coloring and forming concrete have been developed that recreate the appearance of individually laid bricks and stones but at a significantly lower cost. These techniques include forming impressions of bricks, cobblestones, slate, etc. with hand tools, such as chisels, touch-up wheels and concrete stamps that include impressions that impart desired shapes and textures onto uncured concrete. These techniques can be used to simulate a variety of materials including, but not limited to, brick, cobblestone, slate, and wood flooring. While these methods work well for bricks and stones in straight patterns, these methods do not work as well for curved patterns. Such as a continuous arrangement of bricks in a curved pattern, often referred to as a “soldier course.” Curved patterns require the creation of a new concrete stamp for each change in radius that may be required.
FIG. 1 shows one known embodiment of a concrete stamp 100 for a curved soldier course pattern. In this known embodiment, the concrete stamp 100 includes a raised border 102 and a negative relief 104 of a plurality of stones. When pressed into uncured concrete, the raised border 102 creates an appearance of mortar while the negative relief 104 creates an appearance of stones. Because the concrete stamp 100 is formed as a solid unit with the raised border 102 surrounding the stamp 100 and the negative relief 104 extending between the raised borders 102, a radius 106 of the stamp 100 is fixed and cannot be altered. Thus, this arrangement requires the creation of a new concrete stamp for each change in radius in a pattern, increasing both costs and labor. Alternatively, the driveway or walkway configuration must be altered to fit the pre-determined radius.
Accordingly, there is a need for a concrete stamping tool which can be adapted to form curved patterns with various radii.